This Fanny Pack Charges Your Phone While You Walk

Everyone's favorite mom accessory can now charge your phone.

Backpack designer Bill Ostrom and a team from Queen's University in Ontario, Canada have created the Go Kin Pack, a portable phone charger that's powered by the energy you create while walking.
The concept targets hikers and those who might not have access to an outlet to charge their phone in remote places. The user plugs their smartphone into a USB port inside the fanny pack or backpack and simply walks to charge it. But there's a catch: the 2.6-pound charger connects to two cords that ultimately wrap around the ankle or hook onto a shoe. This is how the charging device gets its energy.
Every five minutes of walking generates enough power to have a 10 to 25-minute phone conversation, according to the device's Kickstarter page.
"Walking will generate 10 to 14 watts of electricity," Ostrom said in the Kickstarter video. "It's usable, it's green, it's very exciting."
The charger is not limited to phones, although it is primarily advertised that way. The movement-powered battery can also charge tablets, GPS devices, cameras, wearables and any other electronic with a USB port.
Rather than absorbing precious battery juice, the device can be recharged virtually anywhere. However, the company includes a lithium-ion battery with each Go Kin Pack in case walking is not possible or the user needs a full battery quickly.
The Kickstarter campaign has raised $10,000 of its $30,000 goal, with 16 days to go. If sufficient funds are donated, the Go Kin Packs are expected to be shipped to buyers by November 2014.
Phone chargers in the form of clothing have been making the rounds of the tech community lately. Last week, British designer A. Sauvage created a pair of pants that charges phones placed in the pants pockets.

Posted by : Gizmeon